


Salt Water and Sweet Kisses

by SapphicScholar



Series: Smutty Supercorp One-Shots [3]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Chapter 2 moves to a season 2 rewrite, F/F, Fluff, Lifeguard!Kara, Smut, SuperCorp, Supercorpweek2k17, lifeguard AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2018-12-19 15:19:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11900472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphicScholar/pseuds/SapphicScholar
Summary: A fluffy, smutty one-shot in which Kara is a lifeguard at the beach and Lena needs a bit of help with her sunscreen. It's cliched af, but these two need something sweet after a certain producer's comments today...Thanks for requests for more of this story, it goes on as a kind of rewrite of the start of S2 under the premise that Kara and Lena had a brief summer fling, but never got to know all that much about each other (that Kara is an alien or that Lena is a Luthor). What will happen when they reunite in National City two years later?





	1. Chapter 1

Having been abandoned by Alex after the cute girl from the surf shop texted her to “hang out,” Kara dragged herself down to the beach alone for her lifeguarding shift. Sure, she knew better than to let herself get too distracted with friends up in the chair, but it was nice to have someone to talk to during the quiet mornings at the end of the summer—the weeks when the senior citizens slowly reemerged to reclaim their beaches for early morning walks that could stretch on longer now that the surf no longer whisked giggling kids on boogie boards into their ankles. 

So she climbed the ladder into the chair, peering through her binoculars at the beach, which was fairly empty, save for a few runners making their way across the sand and a handful of older couples walking up and down the shore, holding their shoes in their hands as the waves just barely trickled out to meet them. So far no one was out in the water—as she expected; the surfers hung out a few miles further north where the waves were a little better and there were no more piers jutting out into the water. 

As the day wore on, she watched as a handful of people made their way down to the beach, easily setting up chairs and umbrellas in what would have been considered prime real estate just a few weeks prior. A group of college-aged students made their way out a little later in the day, but they stuck to the shallow water, tossing a football back and forth before settling into the sand with hoagies and bottles that Kara assumed were likely spiked with something harder than the soda they were supposed to contain. But as long as they didn’t get too out of hand or try to go swimming far out in the ocean, Kara figured they weren’t doing any harm. 

It was around 11—right about the same time that Kara was beginning to get impatient for shift change, even though she still had two hours to go—that Kara’s attention was caught by a rather beautiful woman making her way down the beach, setting herself up close enough to the lifeguard stand that Kara was able to resist the temptation to use her binoculars to get a better look. She watched as the woman shook out a towel, then set up an umbrella larger than her. In all fairness, she did look rather pale…it would be a shame if any of that skin got burnt, Kara reasoned. 

Between glances at the water to see if anyone had ventured in beyond their knees—still no—Kara’s attention returned to the raven-haired beauty, who was now tucked under the shade of the umbrella reading some large book. Within minutes, the woman seemed totally entranced with the book, and she reminded Kara a bit of Alex as she scribbled notes across the margins, sticking her pen between her lips whenever she took a break from writing. 

When the woman suddenly looked up and toward the lifeguard stand, Kara quickly turned her head in the opposite direction, surveying the completely empty waters with great focus. Unwilling to risk being caught staring a second time, Kara let her imagination take her away, conjuring up scenes of the woman coming over, maybe even asking her to rub some sunscreen into skin that looked like it would be perfectly smooth and soft to the touch. When her mind drifted just a little farther into that scene, puling up images of the woman’s thighs wrapped around her head, Kara forced herself to take a large drink of cool water and try to pay better attention to the tourists, even if they were doing absolutely nothing she could really police in any way. 

\---

Having grown weary of her textbook author’s constant use of outdated research on quantum physics, Lena finally tucked her book back into her bag, debating between pulling out the novel she’d picked up from a local bookstore or lying down on the blanket, maybe taking off her shirt to give the very sexy lifeguard a better view… 

Figuring she’d behave for a little while longer—after all, she wouldn’t want to distract the lifeguard, lest someone drown because of it—Lena pulled out the novel from her bag, readjusting under the umbrella and looking up just in time to catch sight of the lifeguard looking at her and biting her lip. Of course, the woman proceeded to nearly throw herself back to the other side of the chair, her blonde hair whipping in the breeze, and when she settled, she was still fidgeting slightly, pushing her sunglasses higher up her nose, then pulling out her binoculars to scan the distant seas, even though Lena hadn’t seen anyone out that far in over a week. Stifling a laugh, she sipped at her iced coffee and let herself get lost in the pages of her book for a while. 

As she read, though, her attention kept drifting back to the lifeguard, back to the rather well-defined muscles she’d noticed, to thoughts of what those muscular arms might feel like wrapped around her, holding her up against a wall… And she wasn’t normally this distractible, but it had been a while, and sue her, this woman looked like a damn goddess and could probably fuck like one too. So, chancing the safety of the handful of people still left on the beach, Lena stood up and stretched out, slowly and deliberately pulling her white shirt over her head as soon as the lifeguard’s attention had returned to her, then shimmying out of her black shorts. Of course, she knew how likely it was that she would burn if she didn’t use sunscreen. And it really wasn’t her fault that the media had sexualized sun safety, making the simple act of rubbing lotion across her chest and shoulders into something erotic that may or may not be working to catch the blonde’s attention. 

\---

Trying not to gawk, Kara carefully peered over her sunglasses at the woman—now clad in only a small black bikini. She was even more gorgeous than Kara had first suspected, and she couldn’t keep her thoughts out of the gutter no matter how hard she tried. Watching the woman slowly working sunscreen across her chest and stomach, then down her thighs and legs, Kara just barely fought the urge to bound down and offer to lend a helping hand. She checked her watch: 15 minutes left on her shift. Of course, she likely wouldn’t do anything about it. She’d go home and tell Alex all about it and listen as Alex teased her for letting yet another cute beach patron leave without her ever having said anything. She could hear Alex’s voice now: “You’re a lifeguard, Kara! That’s, like, the stuff of summer romance novels. You could totally get anyone you wanted.”

Kara’s attention was suddenly pulled back to the woman, now standing right in front of her. 

“Excuse me,” she repeated.

“Oh, shoot, I’m so sorry! Do you need help? Is someone drowning?” Kara asked, already getting ready to jump out into the ocean to pull someone to safety.

“No, you’re fine,” the woman laughed, “though it’s nice to know you’re so ready and eager to save us.”

“Right, yeah,” Kara agreed, chuckling nervously. “Um, was there, uh, something I could help you with?”

“Well…I’m here all alone, and unfortunately I just can’t seem to reach my back with the sunscreen. I know it’s not quite at the level of a dramatic save, but you can think about it as saving my life forty or fifty years from now…you know, skin cancer and all.” 

Kara grinned at the look of mock-seriousness on the woman’s face. “Well, I get off in just ten more minutes. My shift, I mean!” she nearly yelled, blushing with embarrassment as she reconsidered her wording.

“Well I wouldn’t have said anything…”

“Er, right, um, anyway, I could help you then? I just can’t really leave the chair.”

“I think I can stand to stay under the umbrella for ten more minutes—long as they might be,” the woman teased. “I’ll be waiting for you, then.”

“Great, sounds good,” Kara nodded eagerly. “Oh, I’m Kara by the way.”

“Lena. Nice to meet you, Kara.” And right then and there, Kara decided she never wanted to hear anyone else say her name ever again; something about the way this woman—Lena—just barely rolled the “r,” the way her voice dropped ever so slightly, the hint of an accent fighting to come through, the way one corner of her mouth turned up, like she was thinking about some secret Kara just might have the privilege of being privy to if she stuck around long enough. 

“I will, um, I’ll see you over there, then?”

“Looking forward to it.”

As Lena smirked and spun, her hips swaying as she walked away, Kara wondered if she’d even make it these last few minutes without spontaneously combusting. But soon enough, Lucy was calling up to her to get down and enjoy her afternoon of freedom. “How’s it been?” Lucy asked as she hoisted herself up into the chair.

“Eh, quiet. Pretty much no one is out in the water. Some of those guys are drinking, I think, but they’ve been behaving themselves.”

“Sounds good. Nothing like these lazy late summer afternoons.”

“Mhm. I, uh, I’ve got to go now, though.”

“Got a hot date?” Lucy teased, laughing as Kara flushed a light pink.

“Um, I, uh, promised that woman over there that I’d put sunscreen on her back.”

Lucy spun all too obviously to look at the woman, nodding her approval at Kara and cheerily waving at the woman whose attention had been drawn by all the motion. “She’s hot.”

“Yes, well, you’re on shift now, so behave,” Kara instructed, sticking her tongue out at Lucy before turning to walk over to Lena.

“Yeah, yeah,” Lucy sighed. Then, a bit more loudly she called out: “Go get ’em, Romeo!”

Kara froze, pursing her lips and scowling at Lucy until the sound of Lena’s lilting laugh rang out through the air, immediately pulling her attention back to the task at hand. “Hey, sorry about my friend…she thinks she’s funny.”

“It’s quite alright. But now I need to ask: should I be calling you Romeo too?”

“No,” Kara shook her head, rubbing at the back of her neck. “Kara is definitely fine.”

“Alright then, Kara,” she nodded, handing over a tube of sunscreen and stretching out across her towel.

Fighting off what felt like an inevitable aneurism, Kara managed to get sunscreen into her hands and kneel down next to Lena. “Can I, uh, are you okay if I touch you?”

“I think it’d be pretty hard to apply sunscreen otherwise,” Lena teased.

“Right, yeah.” And then Kara let her hands meet skin that was even softer than she’d imagined, her fingers wrapping around smooth curves as she rubbed her way up the planes of Lena’s back. Reluctantly, when every inch of skin had been thoroughly coated in sunscreen, she pulled back. “You’re all set. So, enjoy your afternoon, I guess.”

“Are you off duty now?” Lena asked, hoping her voice didn’t sound quite as shaky as she felt after having those strong hands all over her. 

“I am,” Kara confirmed. 

“Would you have any interest in keeping me company for a while? I’ve got a second towel in here somewhere.”

“Oh? Yeah, yeah, that’d be nice.” Kara smiled as Lena fished around in her bag for a towel, finally handing it over. “Thanks.”

“Anytime. Well, just this week, I suppose, then I’m back to my last semester of grad school.”

“Oh really? Good luck. Yeah, I’ve got three more weeks here, then I’m moving down to National City to work at CatCo.”

“Ah, Cat Grant,” Lena chuckled. “Best of luck. What’ll you be doing?”

“Um, working as her assistant,” Kara admitted, looking slightly sheepish after the way Lena had pronounced the woman’s name. 

“Oh wow…I sure hope you’re as strong as you look, but then again, I don’t doubt it.”

“Thanks,” Kara mumbled, feeling her cheeks heat up at the compliment. “Um, where do you go to school?”

“MIT,” Lena answered. She didn’t get into the fact that she was graduating early in part because she was about to take over her family’s multi-billion dollar company, finally taking it out of the hands of people with political views that were utterly repulsive to her. 

“Wow, so you must be crazy smart, huh?”

“If Cat Grant trusts you enough to be her assistant, you’re not exactly unintelligent yourself,” Lena countered, watching as Kara shrugged even as the corners of her mouth turned up in a small smile. “Now, want to do a bit of sunbathing with me, or do you get too much of that at work?”

“Nah, it’ll be nice to lay out in the sun without worrying about having to save a drowning child for a change.” And then Kara’s mouth went dry as Lena flipped over onto her back, settling in and closing her eyes. “Right, yeah, relaxing,” Kara muttered to herself, flipping over onto her stomach to avoid the temptation to stay seated and just watch Lena rest, maybe even pull out her sketchpad and immortalize those perfect features on paper. 

\---

After several hours spent lounging on the beach and splashing in the water, Lena had invited Kara back over to the house she had rented for the week for dinner. A quick text to Alex had revealed that she had made her way back over to the other surfer’s apartment and would be just fine without Kara, so Kara quickly agreed and followed Lena back the few blocks to her place. 

Kara wasn’t normally a one-night stand kind of woman—Alex would teasingly point out that she was much more of a “pine from afar” kind of woman—but when Lena had leaned across the table to wipe away the bit of whipped cream from the corner of Kara’s mouth during dessert, Kara decided it was probably worth trying to be that kind of woman. So she didn’t blush and let her gaze fall to the table—well, she probably did blush, but she held eye contact, dammit. Instead, she leaned in, meeting Lena halfway in a kiss that had her seeing stars and willingly leaving behind half-eaten ice cream sundaes as Lena took her hand and led her to the bedroom.

She groaned as Lena pushed her into the wall, biting and sucking at her lower lip as her hands found their way to Kara’s chest. “You good?” Lena asked, her voice deep and husky.

“So good. You?”

“Definitely fine.”

With a smile, Kara easily hoisted Lena up in her arms, spinning them around so that Lena’s back was up against the wall as she kissed Lena deeply, letting her tongue flick across Lena’s lips then dip into her mouth. 

Lena sighed; those strong arms were just as amazing as she had imagined, and being held in them was better than her fantasies. Of course, as the night wore on, she found that many things were better than her fantasies. And when she came for what had to have been the third or fourth time, her thighs wrapped around Kara’s head and her fingers gripping at the sheets, her voice hoarse and her chest heaving, she decided that truly fantasies would never compare to this goddess in her bed. 

When Kara finally let her have a turn, let her lick and suck her way across her chest, feeling Kara’s nipples harden beneath her lips, let her dip her fingers between Kara’s legs, finding the woman dripping wet and perfectly responsive to her touch, Lena stopped even trying to compare the experiences, letting herself get lost in the sounds of Kara’s low moans as they filled the room, finally building to a crescendo as Lena curled her fingers inside Kara and brought her lips down around Kara’s clit. 

Sometime in the middle of the night, they finally collapsed into the mattress; apparently even Kara’s perfectly defined muscles needed a break at a certain point. With her head resting on Kara’s chest, Lena felt Kara’s words before she heard them. “I, uh, I don’t normally do that…”

“Do what? Women?” she asked, hoping that wasn’t the case—it certainly hadn’t felt like the case.

“No! No, um, sleeping with someone right away. I just, I mean, I had a lot of fun. But I don’t want you to think I was using you or something.”

“It was fun, Kara. It’s allowed to just be fun. And if you want to have any more fun these last few days before I head back to MIT, I’m more than happy to have you back over.”

“Yeah? And maybe, I mean, obviously this isn’t a long term thing, but maybe I could take you out for ice cream or something?”

Biting back a grin at just how sweet this woman was, Lena nodded, knowing Kara would feel it. “I think that could be fun in its own way.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I got a few requests for more of this story here and on Tumblr, so I’m back with a second part! As I mentioned in the first chapter, Lena didn’t feel like getting into all the baggage that came with her family name, so she only ever talked about herself as Lena, a grad student at MIT. This chapter borrows a bit from the dialogue of 2x01 as I reimagine what that interview might have been like had they already known each other…

As they walked through the streets of National City, looking every bit the part of two ordinary human citizens, albeit more attractive than most and looking, at times, a bit too forced in their clumsiness, Kara tried not to let her excitement about spending more time with Clark—as both reporter and superhero—become too obvious. But it had been a long few weeks at the end of a long year, and there was something nice about being out with someone who knew what it was like to nearly tiptoe their way across the city streets, to shake hands and offer hugs that barely registered as effort. 

So she made her way cheerily along with him, ready to see Clark Kent, ace reporter, at work, ready to see a form of justice being served that didn’t result from her fists or the intervention of the DEO. And sure, maybe she hadn’t quite put in the work of researching the subject of their investigation before they headed off to interview this Lena Luthor person, but in all fairness, she’d been a little too preoccupied with attempting to come up with an answer for Cat about what her future career would look like and trying to figuring out why things weren’t working with James—he seemed like everything she wanted, but should couldn’t help the way her heart wasn’t in it, the way her mind continued to drift back to thoughts of the all too brief fling she’d had with a beautiful, brilliant woman on the beach two summers ago. So she walked into an interview with almost no preparation or background knowledge, save for the few headlines she vaguely remembered seeing about a younger Luthor taking over the family business. She’d always been too disgusted by the last name to look into them, too horrified by what Lex had done to Clark to want to know about his company returning to the public eye.

“You ready?” Clark asked, grinning at Kara and pulling her out of her thoughts.

“Absolutely!”

Of course, it wasn’t quite so simple. Instead, they waited for several minutes as the guard checked them in and guided them through the metal detectors. (“You’d think they should make the Luthors go through the security, not their visitors,” Kara snorted.) Finally, they were escorted upstairs and directed to a check in desk where a young woman in a well-tailored black suit waited for them. 

“Can I help you?” she asked.

Stepping forward with his press credentials ready, Clark adjusted his glasses and smiled brilliantly at the woman, catching sight of her nameplate. “Good morning, Jess! Name’s Clark Kent, I’m here about that interview with Ms. Luthor for The Daily Planet. I believe my boss, Perry White, already called about setting it up, but I can get him on the line in a jiffy if you need anything more.”

“That’ll be fine. I’ll let Ms. Luthor know that you’ve arrived,” Jess said, dismissing Clark and Kara, clearly unaffected by the aww-shucks charm that worked such wonders on most. 

“Thank you.”

Clark carefully lowered himself into one of the few chairs, smiling over at Kara as he pulled out his reporter pad and pen and watched as Kara did the same. After a couple of minutes, the clicking of heels from far down the hallway drew their attention up, and a few moments later the newest Luthor Corp CEO appeared. 

“Ms. Luthor, a Mr. Clark Kent from The Daily Planet is here, along with his…assistant, perhaps,” Jess explained, gesturing toward her two visitors. 

Kara was too busy trying to keep her mouth closed to bother correcting Jess’ assumptions. Because standing in front of her was the very woman who had taken up so much of her mental energy these past few weeks—if she were being honest, she’d been a somewhat constant presence ever since those few days together two summers ago. She looked less the part of the grad student on vacation and more a corporate CEO, dressed as she was in a black pencil skirt and blazer with a red top that drew Kara’s attention to her chest, then up to her red lips in ways that really were not appropriate for the situation. 

“Clark Kent, nice to meet you,” Lena finally said, giving no outward indication that her heart had sped up ever so slightly, that her thoughts were winding their way back to some of the happiest memories she had from the past few years—some of the only happy memories she had since Lex turned, if she were being honest with herself. 

“I wish I could say we were meeting under better circumstances, Ms. Luthor,” Clark replied, tipping his head slightly even as Kara heard the hint of steel and accusation beneath his otherwise friendly tone. “I saw that you had a ticket for the Venture launch yesterday, and I couldn’t help but notice that you never did claim your seat.”

Lena strode forward, guiding the pair—though she could only focus on Clark, the one asking the questions, right now, lest her mind get bogged down with other questions and memories—into her office. She tried not to notice Kara holding her notebook at the ready. Apparently she’d survived her time as Cat Grant’s assistant and done well enough to earn a promotion. 

In a clipped tone, Lena sighed, “There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for why I wasn't aboard the Venture yesterday.” She strode across the room and hung her coat up, studiously avoiding eye contact with the blonde. Had she looked back, she might have noticed Kara looking a bit like a deer caught in the headlights, clearly deliberating between what she knew of Lena from their admittedly brief time together and what she now believed she knew based on her last name and the slightly mysterious circumstances surrounding the Venture explosion the day before.

Kara was too distracted to hear Clark’s follow up question, tuning back in only when Lena spoke once more, explaining something about a company emergency, something about renaming Luthor Corp. She let her gaze drift around the office, not willing to have it settle anywhere on Lena’s person just yet, not ready to feel the way her stomach swooped at the sight, at the memories that came flooding back to her.

“Ah, lucky,” Clark declared, and Kara felt her stomach clench at the idea that somehow she might be forced to choose between her cousin who, despite everything, she still idolized, and the woman she could have sworn she knew better than this. 

With a chuckle and a smirk that finally drew Kara’s attention away from the large office with its stunning view to her painted lips and the thoughts of all that they had been capable of doing, Lena drawled, “Lucky is Superman saving the day.”

“Not something one expects a Luthor to say,” Clark countered.

“Right.” Lena fought the urge to roll her eyes, knowing exactly how this kind of interview went when she was already being reduced to her family’s name.

“And Supergirl was there, too!” Kara chimed in, somehow still needing Lena to recognize her achievements as both Kara, who she had been so quick to support during their days on the beach, and Supergirl, even if she had no way of knowing the two people were one in the same.

“And who are you exactly?” Lena asked with a faint chuckle, knowing it was cold and cruel and everything Kara probably already assumed about her as a Luthor. 

“Um…” Kara paused, wondering if Lena really didn’t remember. “I’m Kara Danvers.” With Lena’s back turned to her, she had no way to know whether there was any glimmer of recognition there. “I’m not with The Daily Planet. I'm with Catco magazine.” Realizing this woman was already on a first name basis with Cat and might somehow mention it to her if she stayed out of jail, she amended her statement: “Sort of.”

“It’s a publication not known for its hard-hitting journalism,” Lena scoffed, letting herself be every bit the part of the cold CEO as she swung her hips and settled in at her desk. “More like, ‘High-Waisted Jeans: Yes or No?’”

Refusing to let her disappointment show, Kara simply nodded, gesturing half-heartedly with her hands as she explained that she was just tagging along for the day.

“Right.” After a pause, Lena arched a brow at Clark, who still hadn’t gotten to his questions. “Can we just speed this interview along? Just ask me what you want to ask, Mr. Kent. Did I have anything to do with the Venture explosion?” She looked down at her books, unwilling to look to see whether Kara looked as suspicious as her companion, as convinced of her guilt.

“Did you?”

“You wouldn't be asking me if my last name was Smith.”

“Ah, but it’s not. It’s Luthor.” Kara turned to look at Clark; sure, she wasn’t a fan of Lex either, but it couldn’t be fair to treat the woman like this, like she was guilty until proven innocent.

“Some steel under that Kansas wheat,” Lena purred, spinning in her chair and crossing her legs, knowing exactly what she was doing and refusing to let herself consider how much lower Kara’s opinion of her must be sinking. But eventually she gave in and turned to Kara, her tone softening slightly. “It wasn’t always. I was adopted when I was four. And the person who made me feel most welcome in the family was Lex. He made me proud to be a Luthor.” Seeing the way Kara looked at her—the way she looked at her like she wanted to believe she was innocent, like she was willing to listen to her, to fall back into the easy rapport they once had—became too much. She spun in her chair, missing the way Kara and Clark turned to assess her office as she continued: “And then he went on his reign of terror in Metropolis. Declared war on Superman. Committed unspeakable crimes.” She swung back around and pulled up slides on the large wall-mounted monitor. “When Superman put Lex in jail, I vowed to take back my family’s company—to rename it L-Corp, make it a force for good. I’m just a woman trying to make a name for herself outside of her family. Can you understand that?”

And Kara knew that maybe she was reading too much into it, knew that maybe Lena’s words weren’t meant as an explanation for why she hadn’t given Kara her last name those years ago, but she couldn’t help the surge of sympathy she felt, couldn’t help the way she thought back to Astra and Non and their quest to save the planet at the expense of its inhabitants, even to her mother, the judge who she once thought could do no wrong. “Yeah,” Kara said softly with a small nod, ignoring Clark’s curious glance over at her.

“I know why you’re here. Because a subsidiary of my company made the part that exploded on the Venture. This drive contains all the information we have on the oscillator. I hope it helps you in your investigation.”

“Thank you,” Clark said, accepting the flash drive.

“Give me a chance, Mr. Kent. I’m here for a fresh start. Let me have one.” 

“Good day, Ms. Luthor.”

“Good day,” Kara added, feeling the need to say something, anything, to acknowledge her presence in the room, especially after Lena’s speech. Even if it had been a line for the media, something fed out to keep Clark off her trail, Kara felt it resonate with her, wanted to give that chance to Lena to start fresh without any preconceived notions. 

Once she and Clark made it out of the building and into the streets of National City, Clark spoke up. “I didn’t see anything when I x-ray-visioned the room.”

“Yeah, me neither. What do you think?” A part of her hoped he would confirm her suspicious that Lena seemed innocent. 

“I’ve learned through hard experience not to believe anything a Luthor says,” Clark said, stuffing his hands into his pockets as they crossed the street.

Even though Kara wanted to trust her cousin who had so much more experience with this—both reporting and dealing with Luthors—than she did, she couldn’t help but push back a little. “Yeah, I know I’m not a reporter or anything, but I kinda believed her.” 

Before Clark could respond, his phone rang, a small photo of Lois popping up on the display. She watched as the suspicious reporter seemed to transform in front of her. No matter how much he smiled with her and even with Lena, there was something so much softer to it now. She chuckled as Lois asked if he was being careful. “I love that she worries about you,” she said after he hung up.

“Yeah, me, too.”

“How do you do it all, Clark? You're an amazing reporter, a great boyfriend, and Superman. I mean, I love being Supergirl. That part of my life is clear. But the rest of it…” she trailed off, unsure how to put into words the fact that she just couldn’t seem to make it work with the man who was so absolutely perfect for her on paper. He knew her secret and was supportive; he listened to her, no longer turning to call Superman whenever things looked dicey, trusting her to handle it herself or ask for help if and when she needed it. He was kind and sweet and exceptionally handsome. And yet… 

“You mean Jimmy?” It took Kara a moment to remember that Clark’s Jimmy was her James. 

“How’d you know that?”

“It’s super telepathy. It’s a power you'll get someday.”

Kara’s head popped up at that. “Really?”

“No. Jimmy and I are friends, we talk,” Clark explained with a sympathetic smile.

“For so long, I kept my head down and moved forward. And life was simple.” Well, as simple as it could be when she was an alien balancing a secret identity while working two demanding jobs as Cat Grant’s assistant and the protector of National City. “And now I have all these options. An amazing guy and any job I want and I’m…I’m stuck.”

“I’ve been where you are. You know, trying to figure out how to be Clark and Superman.”

“Yeah, but you made it look so easy,” Kara interrupted.

“Well, it wasn’t. It’s still not,” Clark admitted. “Look, all I know is that being Kara is just as important as being Supergirl.” Kara nodded; that was something she absolutely understood. “Come here.” She let herself be dragged into a hug, trying not to panic too much as Clark told her to trust herself and listen to her heart when it came to things with James, especially when her gut and her heart both seemed to be guiding her back to a woman that was suspect number one for the Venture explosion.

\---

As much as she hated flying, even if she had the facts and statistics that showed it was technically safer than other modes of transportation, Lena was at least pleased to have some distraction from the thoughts of Kara that hadn’t left her since their interview that morning. She wondered if she had imagined the softening of Kara’s expression before she left, wondered if it was just the effect of some residual optimism that hadn’t been wiped clean after Lex’s rampage. It wasn’t like they had stayed in touch after that summer—they’d agreed it would be best kept as fond memories, and Lena hadn’t particularly wanted to know what Kara thought when she found out that she was a Luthor—so the idea that the blonde lifeguard she once knew still felt some kind of affection for her was probably ludicrous. The fact that she still felt something for Kara mattered little. 

The sight of a large drone flying at their helicopter quickly drove all thoughts of Kara from Lena’s mind, and before she knew it, they were under attack. She closed her eyes and tried to make peace with how she would be leaving things. Sure, they weren’t perfect, but, she supposed, at least her reputation wouldn’t end up like Lex’s; she’d never have time to find out what a long life seeped in power and money would do to her. 

But before the drones could kill her, the telltale red and blue blur of Superman swooped in along with the caped blonde she’d learned laid claim to the title of National City’s own resident hero. Within seconds, Superman was off to protect the city while Supergirl darted through the air, blocking fiery blasts and taking out the drones. Try as the Supers might, Lena was left to watch the helicopter pilot die in front of her, felt herself and the helicopter falling from the air—until suddenly she wasn’t.

“You’re safe now,” Supergirl told her once she lowered the helicopter back down to the landing site, checking for obvious injuries, then feeling for a pulse on the pilot. 

“What the hell was that?” Lena demanded, too much in shock, the adrenaline pumping through her veins and narrowing her thoughts to fight or flight instincts, to notice the striking similarities between this caped hero and the lifeguard with perfectly chiseled muscles who picked her up as though she weighed nothing.

“Someone’s trying to kill you.” Oh, that was comforting. Perhaps not unexpected, but still never the thing one wants to hear. She lost sight of Supergirl as she was led to the EMTs, then finally allowed to go back to her office—shaken but undeterred from her mission to make Luthor Corp a force for good. 

\---

Kara listened and rubbed at her eyes as James told her he felt her pulling away, told her he knew he wasn’t imagining the way that things between them just didn’t seem to work anymore. And she wanted to object, to remind him of just how much chemistry they’d had together, the way they could and should have worked in reality. But after seeing Lena, after all those memories came flooding back with a force that shocked her even after years of having them slip back in dreams and, if she were being honest, fantasies, she couldn’t deny that things with James didn’t feel like that. So she let him end their relationship before it really began, watched him walk away with a wistfulness that felt more like nostalgia for something that never was than regret over true loss. 

And then she listened to Cat talk to her about taking risks and chances and coming out as a brand new person—something that terrified her but also excited her, made her think that maybe, just maybe, there were things for her outside of the safe, predictable advertising job her online quiz had recommended or the sensible relationship she might have pursued with James. She knew Cat was only speaking about work—though the woman had a way of telling her things just when she needed to hear them, even when it had nothing to do with work—but she couldn’t help but think about what it might mean to take that leap with Lena, to trust this woman despite her last name and insist that, yes, they had called it a fling; and, yes, it had only lasted a few days; but, dammit, she wanted to see what it might become if they let things happen once more.

A voicemail from Alex informing her that Lena was the target, not the perpetrator, of the attack sent her running to Lena before she could dwell on her thoughts any longer. 

\--

“Lena, look, I know that you don’t owe me any favors, but please, please, would you postpone the renaming ceremony?”

“Kara, I appreciate that you care…despite everything. But if I don’t go through with this ceremony, they win. Lex and all of his supporters and the men who have been sent to kill me—they all get their way.”

“But what if they only got their way for a week? And then you can have the ceremony with a much greater security presence. We would have time to secure the area, make sure there weren’t any hidden bombs.” She didn’t point out that there had already been a hidden bomb under Lena’s seat.

“We? Are you telling me you’re a cop by night?” Lena arched an eyebrow in a playful challenge.

“Oh, well, uh, no,” Kara laughed, pushing her glasses up her nose and turning on her heels to follow Lena, who had grabbed her coat and was making her way toward the elevator, clearly intent on making it down to the ceremony. “They’ll win more if you die!”

“Very articulate,” Lena teased, wondering how easy it might be to fall back into old habits, to let themselves sink into the casual touches and the witty banter that had once masked a passionate heat between them. 

“What would convince you?” Kara asked, stepping slightly into Lena’s space in the elevator and hearing the small hitch in Lena’s breathing, the slight acceleration of her heartbeat as Kara leaned in closer.

“I’m afraid I can’t be convinced.” Though, god, did this woman make it tempting to accept the offer.

As they strolled through the courtyard behind the soon to be L-Corp headquarters, Lena surveyed the sparse crowds. “My brother’s serving 32 consecutive life sentences. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised there isn’t a bigger turnout.”

“You’re taking an awful risk, going ahead with the renaming ceremony with your life in danger,” Kara said in a last-ditch effort to change Lena’s mind. But she had glimpsed just how strong the woman was—from the few days they spent together, to the way she carried herself during their interview-interrogation and even the way she kept her panic in check while almost dying in a helicopter.

“I won’t have a life if I can’t make this company into something positive. All it will be remembered for is Lex’s madness.” And Kara found she couldn’t argue with that logic, so she went to stand by Alex Alex and resigned herself to forming a part of the small crowd gathered, resolving to protect Lena at all costs.

“I want to thank you all for coming,” Lena began. “My brother hurt a lot of good, innocent people. My family owes a debt, not just to Metropolis, but to everyone. I intend to pay that. By renaming my company L-Corp, we will usher in a new age of cooperation and community. Together, we will chart a brighter future.”

For a moment, Kara let herself smile along with Lena, let herself be swept up into the feeling of hope that seemed to swell in her chest at Lena’s inspiring words. But all too soon that moment was shattered as explosions rocked the plaza, flames bursting behind Lena. With confirmation that Alex was after Corben, Kara took off to keep the building from collapsing.

“Officer!” Lena yelled, darting from the stage and away from the flames and the chaos into which the ceremony had devolved. 

Only when he turned to face her, he had his gun drawn and a malicious grin on his face. Once more, she found herself being saved by another one of the beautiful, powerful women that National City was apparently full of, though all too soon, the man had the woman pinned, his gun trained on her as Supergirl tried to talk him down. 

The news that Lex had hired the man to kill her, that he had turned on her after years of being her only real friend and family, barely phased her at this point. It was just confirmation of every fear she’d ever had. And it was with that same sense of cold determination that she raised her gun and aimed it at Corben—aiming to wound, not kill; she wanted the man to talk, to rot in prison. She didn’t have the time or energy to try to parse out what Supergirl’s expression or her joke about having help meant, but, oh, those blue eyes looked too familiar—looked like the pair that had searched her face and her office behind a pair of black-framed glasses just this morning. 

\---

The next day, Lena found the pair of intrepid reporter-superheroes in her office once more—this time invited by her. Holding out the day’s issue of The Daily Planet, Lena smiled at Clark, perching on the edge of her desk. “Thank you, Mr. Kent. This is exactly the kind of press my company needs after yesterday’s attack. And thank you for including that part about me shooting the guy. That’ll teach Lex to mess with me. He’ll be the laughingstock of cell block X.”

“Well, that’s not exactly why I wrote it. I wrote it because it’s the truth. I was wrong about you, Ms. Luthor. I’m sorry.” Lena was nothing if not a pragmatist, but the way Clark spoke, she couldn’t help but believe him. 

“Well, if I can make a believer out of Clark Kent, there’s hope yet,” she joked. But in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but wonder about Kara…would she be as easy to bring back? Figuring it was worth a try, she turned a flirtatious smile on the woman who was once more dressed in her cardigans and glasses. “What about you, Ms. Danvers? I didn’t see your name on the byline.”

“Uh, well, like I said, I’m not a reporter,” Kara answered with a chuckle and a shake of her head.

“You could have fooled me.”

In that moment, it was like everything clicked for Kara—all this talk of wanting to be in advertising because it was secure or had good hours meant nothing in the face of a career that could represent “truth, justice, and the American way” on its own. 

“I hope this isn’t the last time we talk,” Lena added, settling in at her desk and looking only at Kara. 

“I hope not either.” And Kara found that she meant it. Despite the way so many parts of her life seemed uncertain, despite the fact that she would be starting anew once more in a career and giving up the security of the job and boyfriend she knew, she found herself excited, feeling far lighter than she had been in years. And if Jess slipped her a business card from Lena with her personal cell and a note that read, “Dinner? Call me,” scrawled across the back—well, that was just an added bonus.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on Tumblr @sapphicscholarwrites


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